Electric signaling system for railways.



Patented Aug. l, 1911.

T. M. FREEBLE. ELECTRIC SIGNALING SYSTEM FOR RAILWAYS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE21, 1909.

- that class known as cab narran AT THOMAS M. FBEEBLEA,

MATIC STOP AND CAB PDRATION OF WEST VIRGINIA.

OF ROCHESTER, TlElNNsYLVANA, ASSIGNOR To raanname: A'Ua'o- ELECTBICSIGNALING SYSTEM FOB, IBAILWAYS.

neonati.

Specification of Letters Patent. applicati@ inea :fune 21, 1909.

Patented naga, i911;

Serial No. 503,510.

.To all whom may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS M. Famenne, a. resident of Rochester, in thecounty of Beaver and State of Pennsylvania., have invented a new andElect-ric Signaling and I do hereby a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

My invention relates to elect-ric signaling systems for railways. andparticularly tosignal systems such as is disclosed in U. S. 'Let-tersPatent granted to nie on October 6, 1908, No. 000,273, wherein signalsare operated in thelocomotive or car, the movements of which are to becontrolled and regulated.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple and eifective systemwherein the signals are shbwn to the engineer or 'operaf tor of themotive power 4and also to provide .Systems for Railways;

.a system wherein the train vis automatically reduced in speed when thedanger signal is shown. VIt also provides a short signal ,circuit 'andtherefore. requires but a small amount. of power supply tov operate it.

To enable others skilled in the art -to which my invention appertains toconstruct and usemy improvedeleetric signaling systern, I will describethe same niorevfully, referring to the accompanying drawing, in whichthe figure illustrates tliafrraniinatically my improved system and thevarious" signals and mechanism operated thereby.

My invention generally stated.,consists" iu a signal s vsteiii whereinthe rails themselves are. used as conductors of the signal.-

circuits and a third Y as will more fully appear hereinafter.

ln the drawing. the. numeral 1 indicates a continuous rail which mayv4continue lthroughout the whole system or section, the

saine being' normally insulated from the rail sections 2 which composethe other rail of' the system. and each of lsuch sections 2 constitutesa block. Each of the. block sections 2 are connected to the continuousrail 1 by a resistance 5l and 'also to a section of the sectional thirdrail or conductor 4, asA at while cach of said sectionsI 4 has a resistAance located within itslengftli, as shown at 5. llach of the sectionalconductors 4 are connected by wire 5 to the. rail sec-tion 2 and inthe.block in advaiicethereof for a purpose more fully to be describedhereinafter.

useful Improvement 1n declare the following to be h conductor or rail isused' The Signaling.r and automatic safety devices are placed in the cabof the locomotive, car or other devine fov being operated over t-hesystem and consists of V,thel three lamp signals, 6, 7 and 8, which arerespectively the white, green and red siguals,aiid` an automaticallyoperated brake valve 0 which' iS operated by the solenoid 10 throughlever 11, while t-he solenoid coil 10 thereof is not: mally in serieswith the red lamp 8. The other devices consist in .the generator 12 andthe circuit controlling magnets 13 and 14. One pole of the .generator12' is grounded to the rail 1 through the wire 12", while the other, orpreferably the .positive pole thereof normally passes through themagnet- 13 by wires 127, contact nf, 13", arma'- ture lever a, contacta, and from magnet 13 to trolley 15 by Wire 13, while theftrolley 15engages with the third rail or sectional conductors 4, as shown.

Each of the magnets pole magnets, each po attract an armature lever,'andthe armature levers 'aand are designed to be operated by the magnet 13,whilethe Ilevers c and d are operated by the magnet 14, The lever b isnormally operated 'to close the circuit to the white signal lights 6when the track is clear, that is, when the two blocks ahead areunoccupied, as-is usualin practically all signal systems at present.-inuse. The circuit for "operating the magnetis as follows from thepositive pole of generatorthrough ,wire 12, Contact. l1a.', Wire1B,flever a, 4eontact a, to magnet 13, thence to trolley 15 by wire 13to third rail.- section through its resistance 5", connecting wire 5 totrack section 2, and thence through resistance 3 to the continuous rail1, from whence it returns to generator 12 through wire 12. Then thecurrent from generator is thus forced to travel through both .theresistances 5 and 8, the current through the magnet. 13 is onlysufiicient. to hold up the armature lever b, making contact at. 7;through the White or clear signal lights as follows :--froni positivepole of `generator 12 through safety 16, wire 1(3, lever Contact b-,wire 6 to llamps G, and thence. by wire 17 to negative pole' ofgenerator 12.y If, however, a train or car occupies the second block.ahead as indicated by the dotted line-S at m, the Circuit will beshunted through the le being designed to car trucksand cut outl theresistance 3.y

This will cause a greater current to pass through' the magnet 13 andwill momentarily close the circuit through contact a and lever a. Astthis time the circuit will momentarily divide and a portion will pass'through said contact as, and wire 18 to complete the circuit through themagnet 14 through wire 13- to trolleycausing the lifting lvof lever c,which will immediately make contact at cy 'and close the circuit throughsaid lever c to magnet 14, as follows z--from generator-'12 by wire 12",le-v ver c, contact c to magnet 14, thence by wire 13', to Vltrolley 15,third rail4 through resistance 5', track section 2, short circuit m,continuous railv 1,'hnd wire 12y back to, other pole of generator'. Atsuch time, the contacts a and a are'opened, and magnet 13,-

denergized and both-levers` a and drop by the tensions oftheir springsAaway from contacts as and `b. 'In thi'sposition with contact c closed,theflampfcircuit is completed through the green lam s 7, asy followsz-`froni generator throng safety 16,..

wire 16', lever b, ContactI b, wire 19, con- A tact 19', lever d,contact d', wire 20 to lamp no resistance other'than the magnet 14itself will be in the track circuit of generator 12, and sufficientcurrent Will then pass through magnet 14 to throw lever d, breaking thecontact d', and consequently the circuit through lamp 7, and makingcontact at d through solenoid 10 by wire 21, 21', and

thence through red signal lamps 8 and wire 17 to generator. By thismeans not only the red signal lamps are lighted, but the solenoid 10 isalsoenergized to operate the brake valve 9 for a purpose more fully tobe described hereinafter.

The safety device 16 comprises the solenoid 40 which normally operateswhen the lamp circuit is complete to hold the arma- :ture lever 41 upagainst 'the pole of the magnet, theopposite end of the lever 41 actingto depress the free end of 'a weighted lever 42 on the air valve 43,said air valve being connected by the pipe 44 to the train pipe asshown. As long-as the lamp circuit is complete through any of the signallamps, 6 and 7, the valve 43 will be closed and the brakes will not beaHect-ed thereby, but in case of accident to the lamp circuitor if forany reason the lamp circuit should be open, then the lever 41 woulddrop, allowing the weighted end of valve leifer 42 .also to drop, thussetting the brakes. Thus it will be seen that if the two blocks infrontof a train are clear, the white signal. lamps 6 will be incircuitby reason of lthe resistance 3 andy 5 being in circuit withmagnet 13, and consequently allowing only a small current to passtherethrough and lifting the lever and making cont-act b to lamps 6.

If, however, the second block in front of the train vis occupied, thecurrent is shtt circuited through the trucks', as indicatedat m, .andthe resistance '3 cut out, thus delivering a stronger circuit to magnet13, lifting ,l lever a, and making momentary contact at a3, I toenergize magnet 14, which in turn makes contact at c" by reason of thelifting o f lethrough the making of contact at c', while the levers band a immediately drop backby reason 'of the breaking of contact -afvjzmomentaril'y, and the circuit through magri `v -.ver c, which will thenhold itself in circuit net 13 Vthen remains open by reason of thebreaking of contactc which will remain broken until magnet 14 isdenergized. The making of contact 19 on lever 0 'completes the circuitthrough green signal lamps 7 ,as @previously described, and such lampswill remain lighted as long as the second block ahead is occupied oruntil train advances to the next blockl ahead, which is the next blockbehind the train at m. nAt such time the trolley 1'5 will advance beyondresistance.

matically set the brakes. As the' train atl m moves on and clears theblock A, the resistance 3 will be thrown in and lever d will drop hack,making contact at d', to green signal lamps 7 and breaking contact dthrough lamps 8 and solenoid 10,y and consequently releasing the brakes.So also, whenv the trains again reach the same relan tive positions asatfirst described, both resistances 3 vand 5 being added to the track tcircuit, `the magnet 14 will not besuiciently energized to hold up'lever c which will drop back, thereby breaking contact at c and closingcircuit at a and completing circuit through magnet 13 at low` tension,which will liftleverb, and make contact at' b through` white signallights 6, at which time the lights 7 will be extinguished by reason ofthe breaking of contact-19",` It will be noticed 'that the trolley 15 issuftciently in advance of the'grounding at 12 so that the trolley willpass the gap m in the third rail before the 'ground 12- passes the gapin the mainralls. This is ,neceseeaeea sary, as. otherwise the circuitWould be momentarily completed through the trucks of the locomotive orcar from ground rail 1 to sectional rail 2, t-hence by Wire 5, thirdrail 5 and trolley 15 to magnet 13, thereby cuttingi out all resistanceand immediately throwing signals red7 and setting the brakes. The gap a:might, however, be placed suliiciently behind gap w to accomplish thisresult.

lt will be understood-that the resistances 3, 3', etc.,.\are muchgreater than the resistances 5. In practice the resistance 3 is tiyiceas greatas 5, the resistance 3 be `1ngsutlcient to so reduce thestrength of current through magnet 13, that lever a Will not be affectedand therefore Will not break thecontact at c and the White lights Willhe. lighted after the trolley has passed the resistance 5 in third rail4 unless the resistance 3 is cut out, as indicated by truck m. It Willbe seen, therefore, from the foregoing that the resistance 5 is only forthe purpose of operating to show the green signal lights when current is`shunted, as at m, andbefore the trolley passes the smaller resistance5. I

In case of accident to the track circuit at any time, as for instance, aWash-out or other break which Would cause a break in the track circuit,both the magnets 13 and 14 would be denergized `and all the levers Woulddrop back and the lamp circuit would be completed .through the redsignal lampsr 8 and brake (inenting solenoid 1() as follows, throughlsafety 1G from positive pole of generator by Wi're 16', lever Z),contact b, Wire 19 and branch 19 to insulated contact strip c, carriedby lever c and insulated therefrom as shown, through contact 0", 40Wires 21 and 21 to and through 'solenoid 10 and lamps 8, and thence byWire 1 7 to nega 'tive pole ofgenerator. lt .Will thus be seen that Inot only provide against collisions, but also accidents due vto breaksin the track 45 or faulty track circuits.

The brakes are set through the operating of valve 9 by solenoid 10through the fol-- lowing mechanism. Thetrain pipe 25 suppliesvairthrough pipes 26 and 27 to the 50. valve 9, through which and pipe 28,air is normally admitted to cylinder 29 back of iston 30 therein, whichpiston is connected y'rod 81 to piston 32 in cylinder 33,- and suchlatter cylinder is of smaller diameter than vthe cylinder 29, so thatwhen air is admitted to cylinder 29 due to the normal position of valve9, the gjlever'ft will be heldin position, tol close valve 35 in trainpipe 25. lf, however, the valve 9 is operated by solenoid 10 in themanner previously described, said valve will assume a position ,toconnect the pipe 28 to the exhaust 36 to rl. lease the pressure againstpiston 30, lsr'othat the pressure passing through pipe`l26z to cylinder33 will cause said piston *to-"torce rod 31 to the left to open valveand set the brakes throughout the train in the usual Well known manner.

The valve 37 is the usual air valve for sett-ing the brakes, and When itis operated by the engineer, which he should do soon as signal lamps 8arey lighted, the contact f is closed and the circuit through so enoidl() is cut out. When operating the valve 37 in the ordinary manner, aswhen t e engineer desires to slow down or bring the train to a stop, theclosing of contact a" does not adeet the lamp circuit unless contact dhas been automatically closed by vthe operationot`l the track circuits.

38 indicates an automatic register of any approved type which isoperated by the movement ot lever 34' by link 39.

lt will be understood from the foregoing description that the levers aand l resist the attractive force of magnets 13 and 14C rc-v spectively,to a much greater degree than the levers b ando, and this 'may beaccomplished in any convenient manner, as by making the springs s and sof much greater `tensio than the springs 3 and s l do not desire tolimit myself to the precise construction herein shown and described,as'it is obi/ions that certain changes may be made lWithout departingfrom the spirit of' my inventionl or sacrificing any of its advantages,as for instance, two generators may be used; the one for the track circuit; and the other for the lamp lcircuit, While a battery or 'twoseparate batteries may be 'substituted for the generator.

Having now fully described my invention, what l' desire to claim,i is

1. ln' an electrically operated block signal system, a. continuousconductor, two sectional conductors having breaks opposite each otherdividing the same into blocks and one of said conductors beingelectrically connected With the opposite conductor of an adjacent block,a resistance in each. 4section of one of said sectional conductors, a resistance connecting the continuous conductor with each section of theother ot said sectionalv conductors, a series of signals carried by avehicle moving on the conductors, electrically operated mechanismcarriedby said vehicle to operate said signals, a pair of contactscarried by said vehicle and engaging With the continuous conductor andthe sectional conductor having the interposed resistance, and a partialcircuit connected with said mechanisnrand said contacts.

2. In an electrically operated block signal system, a continuousconductor, two sectional conductors having breaks opposite each otherdividing the same intoblocks and 'one'ot said conductors beingelectrically connected withl an opposite section ot the other conductorof an adjacent block, a resistance in each section of one of saidsectional ,con-

ductors, a resistance connecting the continuous conductor with eachsection of the other of'said sectional conductors, a series of signalscarried lby 'a' vehicle moving on the conductors, a pair of contactscarried by said vehicle and engaging with the continuous conductor andthe sectional conductor having the interposed resistance,electro-magnetic means carried by said vehicle to operate said signals,and a partial electrical circuit for said electro-ma netic meansconnected to said contacts an said partial circuit being normallycompleted through the continuous conductor and a section of ca ch of thesectional conductors.

3. In an electrically operated block signal system, a continuousconductora two sectional conductors having breaks opposite.

each other dividing the same into blocks and one of said conductoisbeing electrically con nected With the lopposite conductor of anadjacent block, a resistance in each section of one of said sectionalconductors, a resistance connecting the continuous conductor with eachsection of the other of said se-` tiona conductors, said latterresistance bei l ing greater `.than said first named resistance',

a series of signals carried by a vehicle moving on the conductors, apair of contacts carried by said vehicle and engaging with the cntinuous conductor and the sectional conductor having the interposedresista-nce, electro-magnetic means carried by said vehicle to operatesaid signals, and a partial circuit for said electro-magnetic meansoperating .through said contacts, said partial circuit being normallycompleted through the continuous conductor and a section of each of thesectional conductors.

' 4. In an electrically'operated block signal'A va set of signalscarried by a vehicle moving on the conductors, a pair of contactscarried by said vehicle and engaging with the continuous conductor andthe sectional conductor having the interposed resistance, an

electro-magnet carried by 'said vehicle, a' v partial circuit for saidelectro-magnet connected to said contacts,said partial circuit beingnormally completed through the continuous conductor and a section ofeach of the sectional conductors, means normally operated by saidelectro-magnet for display-4 ing said set of signals, a second set ofsig- -tinuous conductor an \ductor having the inter "electro-magnetcarried 'iihalsparried by said Vehicle, and means operated by saidelectro-magnet when the by said vehicleand en aging :with theconthesectional consed resistance an y said vehicle, a' partial/circuitfor said electro-ma et connected to said contacts and inc uding a sourceof energy, said-partial tjrcuit being normally'completed through thecontinuous conductor and a section of each of sai-d sec` tionalconductors, means normally operated by sai'd-'electro-magnet for'displaying said set of, signals, a second set of signals, and a. secondelectro-magnet, means operated by the first electro-magnet when thegreater 'on the conductors, a pairof contacts carried .s

resistance is cut outfor connecting said secerated by the secondelectro-magnet When both resistances are cut out for .displaying saidthird set of signals.

6. In lan electrically operated block signal system, a continuousconductor, two sectional conductors having breaks opposite each otherdividing the same into blocks and one of said conductors beingelectrically I connectedvvith the opposite conductorpf an adjacentblock, a resistance in each section of one of saidsectional conductors,a re-` sistance connecting the continuous conductor with each section ofthe other of said sectional conductors, said latter resistance beinggreater than said first named resistance, a set of signals carried by avvehicle moving on the conductors, a pair of con` 'tacts carried by saidvehicle and engaging with the continuous conductor and the sectionalconductor having the interposed resistance, an electro-magnet carried bysaid vehicle, a partial circuit forjsaid electr magnet connected to saidcontacts and including a source of energy, said partial circuit beingnormally completed through the continuous conductor and a section ofeach of said sectional conductors7 means normally Cil operated by saidelectro-magnet for display'- ing siiid set of signals, a Isecond set ot'nuls :ind a second electro--iiiagiiet. nieans operated by the tirstelectro-magnet when the greater resistance is clit out for connectingsaid second electro-niagiiet in circui with the contacts and sourceotenergy, ineans operated by said second electro-magnet when soenergized'for displaying said second set ot' signals, a third set of signals,means operated by second electro-magnet when botli rsistances are cutout for displaying said third set oi signale7 a brake operating solenoidin series with said third set of signals, and all of said devices beingadapted to be governed by a second vehicle being operated upon saidsystem.

7. ln an electrically operated block signal system, a Continuousconductor, two sectional conductors having breaks opposite 'eachotherdividing tlie saine into blocks and one ot' said conductorsbeingelectrically connected with the opposite conductor of an adjacentblock, a resistance in each see-tion of one of said sectional cond?ytors, a resistance connecting the continuous conductor with each sectionof the other of said seetional conductors, said latter resistance .beinggreater than said first named resistance. a set of signals Carried by avehicle moving on the conductors, a pair of contacts carried by saidyeliicle and engaging with the continuous conductor and the sectionalconductor having the interposed resistance, an electro-magnetl Carriedby said vehicle, a partial circuit for said electro-magnet connected tosaid contacts and including a source of energy, said partial circuitbeing normally completed through the continuous conductor and a sectionof each of said sectional conductors, means normally operated by saidelectro-magnet for displaying saifd set of signals, a second set ofsignals, and a second electro-magnet, means operated by the firstelectro-magnet when the greater resistance out out for connecting saidsecond electro-magnet in circuit with the contacts and source of energy,means op erated by said second electro-magnet when so energized fordisplaying said second set of signals, a third sety off signals, moansoperated by second electro-magnet when both resistaiices are cut out fordisplaying lsaid third set of signals, a brake operating solenoid inseries witli said third set of signals, and a brake setting device inthe signal circuit adapted to be operated When any signal circuit isbroken.

` In testimony whereof, l, the said TiioMAs M. FREEBLE, have hereuntoset my liaiid.

THOMAS M. FREEBLE. Witnesses: A' v GERTRUDE KREMER, J. M. COOKE.

